Visa has launched a new platform designed to accelerate small business growth in the US through credit, digitisation, and marketing.

The payments company said it had built Visa & Main in response to some of the most pressing challenges entrepreneurs encounter such as access to capital, reaching customers and adopting modern business tools.

Visa said that digital transformation remains uneven across US businesses, citing research from the US Census Bureau which shows that large organisations adopt advanced technology like cloud based systems at far higher rates than smaller companies.

To address this gap, Visa said the platform will make essential tools easier to access, with the company providing the training to properly use them.

These include digital payment acceptance tools, expense management and money-movement capabilities, risk and fraud-mitigation solutions and savings programmes.

According to the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey, some 43 per cent of small businesses report financing challenges.

To address the gap, as part of the move Visa said it has partnered with community-focused lender Lendistry to make $100 million working capital available through the platform.

Over the coming months, Visa said it will expand the platform to include additional grant opportunities and financial support programmes.

Additionally, Visa explained the platform will draw on the company’s sponsorship portfolio to help local businesses get discovered during “high traffic moments” such as the FIFA World Cup.

Through marketing support and practical resources such as signage, digital guides and workshops, Visa & Main will give entrepreneurs the opportunity to capture more customers when there are big events taking place, it said.

“Small businesses are the heartbeat of local communities and represent nearly half of our country’s economic activity,” said Kim Lawrence, regional president of North America, Visa. “With Visa & Main, we’re connecting Visa’s products and in-house knowledge with the expertise of our clients and partners to provide small businesses with flexible financing opportunities and customer acquisition and technology support.”

---